LAWNSIDE - A former South Jersey legislator has lost a bid to regain part of the pension he had to forfeit after his conviction on corruption charges a decade ago.

Wayne Bryant, once a powerful state senator from Lawnside, argued the loss of his full pension was “wholly unwarranted” in light of his “sterling qualities and many good deeds,” according to a ruling Thursday by a state appeals court.

But the three-judge panel rejected that view, saying the more severe penalty was supported by evidence of “the severe criminal nature of (Bryant’s) lengthy misconduct.”

Bryant served a four-year prison term after a November 2008 conviction on federal charges that included mail fraud, wire fraud, and solicitation and acceptance of a corrupt payment or benefit.

Prosecutors said Bryant, a Democrat who led the Senate’s Budget and Appropriations Committee from 2002 to 2006, traded his influence for “low-show” jobs that provided additional salary and pension benefits.

The jobs allowed Bryant to qualify for an annual pension of about $81,000 in 2006, compared to $28,000 at the end of 2001, Thursday’s ruling said.

The appellate ruling upheld decisions made by Administrative Law Judge Susan Scarola and by the Board of Trustees of the Public Employees’ Retirement System.

In a May 2016 decision, Scarola said Bryant’s crimes were “directly related to (his) position as a public official.”

She noted Bryant steered state aid to a Stratford medical school where he received credits equal to a full-time position for a ‘fictitious” part-time job between 2003 and 2006.

He also obtained pension benefits as a $50,000-a-year counsel for Gloucester County’s Board of Social Services “while associates performed the work” from 1996 to 2006, Scarola said.

Thursday’s ruling noted Scarola had acknowledged Bryant’s “extensive contributions” to the community and “extraordinary” legislative accomplishment. But she also found Bryant showed “a high degree of moral turpitude” and acted “solely for personal gain.”

Scarmola noted Bryant’s view that his conduct was excusable because “because others were doing the same thing, and because the (county agency) was aware of others performing his duties on his behalf.”

"He felt he had been wrongfully imprisoned because he did not commit any crimes, although the appeal of his conviction was not successful," her opinion said.

Bryant, who was also a partner in a private law firm, enrolled in the state pension system in January 1980 as a Camden County freeholder. He continued in the system as a state legislator from 1982 until 2006.

Bryant sought his pension at the end of 2006, applying for early retirement with 25 years of credit. Trustees of the pension system rejected his application in 2010.

Bryant’s attorney, Samuel J. Halpern of West Orange, could not be reached for comment.